A FORMER poacher has told the Mbombela High Court how they would enter Kruger National Park with marked police vans to poach rhinos.
The poacher, a state witness who cannot be identified for security reasons, led his evidence-in-chief on Tuesday, 12 March.
He alleged that former police officer Joseph "Big Joe" Nyalunga recruited him.
Nyalunga, together with his co-accused Claude Lubisi, Aretha Mhlanga, and Rachel Qwebana, are facing more than 40 charges related to rhino poaching and racketeering.
The crimes were allegedly committed between 2016 and 2019.
The witness told the court that he was first hired by Nyalunga to poach rhinos.
He said they managed to kill at least four of these species and walked away with seven horns.
He had previously told the court that Nyalunga paid him R40 000 for the execution of the rhinos.
The witness told the court they went into the park and returned without getting any rhinos on the second incident.
"The third incident was the one which involved Cldye Mnisi and Petrus Mabuza. We entered the park. We shot one rhino and came back. On this incident, I was instructed by Petrus Mabuza. Clyde Mnisi was the driver and the manager of Petrus.
"There is also an incident where it involves all the accused in court, including the late Petrus Mabuza, Clyde Mnisi and the former Kruger National Park police station commander. We entered the park, shot four rhinoceros and took them to Mshengu's (Petrus Mabuza) house. Police raided the house, and his children had to squash the horns through an under-construction wall," he said.
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The witness indicated that he decided to stop working with the accused after seeing that it was not worth it for him to commit such a crime.
He claims that he then went to the police and reported the crimes.
The witness was then recruited into the undercover operation led by a team of experts in organised crime in collaboration with the South African National Parks.
"We were only told to pretend as if we were going to poach as usual, but we were not poaching and not to commit any crime during that time. We were provided with firearms and horns from the Kruger National Park. It was a 375 rifle, a hunting rifle. We did not shoot any rhino in the undercover operation," he said.
Meanwhile, another witness, an intelligence police, Captain Moses Sithole, told the court that a normal police officer was not found to crack down on the syndicate.
He said they managed to bring the suspects into the book through intelligent undercover operations, which happened several times in the park.
Sithole said he had engaged with all accused before the court on a separate occasion.
"This is an organised crime. These are people who worked in a particular fashion and would not accept anyone from outside to work with them. They had rules.
"A normal police officer would not be successful in investigating the poaching of rhinos. Hence, it was acquired that an agent be placed to participate on the act in order to obtain evidence.”
